Zakir Hussain, Americas Data leader at EY, speaks with Camille Prado, Global Editor, CDO Magazine, in a video interview about the importance of aligning data strategies with business objectives, avoiding siloed execution, ROI in the era of generative AI (GenAI), and driving value realization through governance and accountability.

At the outset, Hussain emphasizes the vital role of aligning data strategies with core business objectives. According to him, “That’s the best way to drive the right value and ensure the data efforts are actually contributing to the overall goals of the organization.”

Referring to a recent study jointly conducted by EY and CDO Magazine, Hussain highlights a telling statistic: “53% of the data leaders recognize alignment with the core business objectives.” He believes it should be higher than that.

Hussain says “When data strategies are aligned with the business goals, they enable informed decision-making.” He then warns against the pitfalls of siloed data strategies, whether they are isolated in IT or other functions.

With siloed data strategies, a limited number of people see value, and user adoption becomes challenging. “And when user adoption becomes a big problem, you don’t really see the intended value,” Hussain adds.

Drawing from his experiences, Hussain shares critical elements effective in crafting impactful data strategies:

• Early stakeholder engagement

• Outcome-based metrics

• Clear and consistent communication with all stakeholders

He recommends a phased and measured approach to scale data initiatives effectively:

• Start small and build on success

• Establish the right governance and operating model

• Incorporate performance metrics from the outset

“Basically, start leveraging the performance metrics or the framework that was set up and then continue to build upon that for additional initiatives,” Hussain affirms.

Measuring RoI of AI integration

Reflecting on recent research findings, Hussain notes an interesting contrast between reported statistics and his own perspective. The CDO Magazine and EY report stated that 22% of CDOs rank measuring ROI as a top requirement for AI integration.

Hussain opines that while it showed only 22%, it landed within the top three. According to him, the top three priorities identified were:

• Alignment with business objectives

• Immediate operational requirements

• Anticipated ROI

Delving further, Hussain emphasizes that business investment decisions are fundamentally driven by core objectives. “The focus is always on the core business that drives investments, and alignment with the business objectives is typically somewhere in the top because the focus is either top-line growth, bottom-line efficiencies, employee satisfaction, customer satisfaction, or regulatory compliance.”

All of these focus areas, he maintains, are tied to one key factor, which is the return on investment (RoI).

Hussain then shares how the rise of GenAI has intensified the focus on data readiness and business outcomes. “When you think about what’s happening today with the advent of GenAI, the businesses are very much focused on trying to figure out how to get ROI through applying AI. To be able to do that, data also becomes very important,” he says. Putting data in the right place is now a high priority for businesses looking to achieve their objectives and unlock the full potential of AI and agentic AI.

Driving value realization through structured governance and accountability

When asked about the key indicators organizations use to measure the ROI of data investments, Hussain stresses that embedding value realization into every client engagement and initiative is crucial. Given the growing significance of data investments, his team places a strong focus on ensuring that each project is aligned with delivering measurable outcomes.

The core focus of the value realization office lies in setting up the appropriate governance structures and operating models tailored to each mandate. This also includes systematically tracking progress, ensuring targets are met, holding stakeholders accountable for delivering on agreed-upon value, and preparing executive communication to maintain alignment.

While all these factors are critical in value realization, Hussain states, “Stakeholders are always one of the most important ones.” Change management, reporting, and training are also essential components, he adds.

In conclusion, Hussain states that while many of these elements have long been part of value tracking, the accountability to actual value realization has become a crucial function to ensure programs consistently meet their stated objectives.

The next part of this interview will explore how to measure the impact of data governance, overcome silos, upskill for AI, AI readiness, and foster strategic partnerships. So stay tuned!

CDO Magazine appreciates Zakir Hussain for sharing his insights with our global community.